Cap



Aug 30, 19% R. STUART 3,269,577

Filed March 17, 1964 2 h ets-Sh et 1 Inventor ROBT'T RT By 1 l 4!. MAttorney Aug. 39, 196 R. STUART 3,

CAP

Filed March 1'7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet z Inventor ROBERT STUART At rneyUnited States Patent Filed Mar. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 352,619 8 Claims.(Cl. 215-46) This invention relates to an easily removable closure, andthe features of the invention are particularly useful in connection witha closure of a type known as a crown cap.

It is the purpose of the invention to provide a closure which iseconomical to construct, which can be applied so as to embrace a bead onthe neck of a container by conventional container closure applyingequipment and which is easily manually removable from the bead. Some ofthe features which enable the purposes of the various embodiments of theinvention to be accomplished are, in general: the provision of cuts in aflange which extends generally downwardly from a top portion, with eachcut forming a tab and extending from below the lower surface of the topportion and terminating short of a continuous free edge of the flange sothat the continuous upper portion of the flange from the lower surfaceof the top portion to the cuts forms an annulus, which annulus enablesthe closure to retain its strength even though such cuts are formed inthe flange; the provision of a localized weakened zone formed in the topportion along a chord and joining the cuts to facilitate easy removal ofthe closure; and the provision of a cut, terminating short of the edgeof the flange, forming a tab to which there extends a localized weakenedzone, that weakened zone being formed completely in the tab in oneembodiment and being formed partly in the flange and partly in the topportion in another embodiment.

In the illustrative drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a closure in accordance with oneembodiment of the invention and showing a fragmentary portion of acontainer to which the closure has been applied;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational fragmentary view showing in detail theposition of a cut in the flange and localized weakened zones extendingto the cut;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a developed view showing the position of the cuts in theflange in relation to the localized weakened zones;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the closure;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of a container and aportion of a closure in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a developed view of the closure in accordance with theembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of a container and aportion of a closure in accordance with another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 9 is a developed view of the closure in accordance with theembodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 8;

FIG 10 is a developed view of a closure in accordance with anotherembodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary developed view of a closure in accordance withstill another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5 of the drawings, at10 there is shown a closure of the crown cap type applied to a containergenerally indicated at 11. A bottle 11 is sealed by the closure. Thebottle includes a neck 12 having an outer annular bead 13 at its openupper end 12. The closure 10 has a circular 3,269,577 Patented August30, 1966 ice top portion or crown 14 having a downwardly extendingannular skirt 15. The skirt 15 has the conventional outwardly projectingribs 16 of which there are twenty one. The top portion of the closurehas an upper surface 17 and a lower surface 18 which are slightlycrowned. The ribs 16 begin, as indicated at 19, substantially below thelower surface 18 of the top portion 14 and extend downwardly to acontinuous free edge 20 of the skirt 15. Indentations or valleys 21 areformed between each adjacent pair of ribs 16. At said indentations theskirt 15 has the conventional inwardly extending projections or nibs 23which extend at least partly under the bead 13.

A conventional sealing liner 24 is shown to underlie the lower surface18 of the top portion and in pressure sealing abutment with the uppersurface 12 of the neck 12'of the bottle 11, as is conventional. When theclosure 10 has been applied to the container 11, the liner 24 may belocally compressed to form a slight annular depression 25. The nibs 23hold the closure 10 in position.

Three cuts generally indicated at 26, 27 and 28, shown to be equallyspace-d, are formed through the flange 15. The cuts 26, 27 and 28 areshown to be substantially below the lower surface 18 of the top portion14 and to terminate short of the edge 20. Each cut 26, 27 and 28 has aninverted generally U-shaped construction, having a bight 29 joining arelatively short leg 30 and a relatively long leg 31. Each bight 29 isabove the beginnings 19 of the ribs 16 and below the top of the skirt15. The cuts 26, 27 and 28 form tabs 26, 27 and 28, respectively. Thelong leg 31 of each tab 26, 27' and 28' terminates in closer proximityto the edge 20 of the skirt than does the short leg 30, so that when anytab is pulled, a portion 32 of the flange 15 between the lower end ofthe leg 31 and the edge 20 will be ruptured, thus rupturing the edge 20,whereas a portion 33 of the flange 15 between the lower end of the leg30 and the edge 20 will not be ruptured. The legs 30 and 31 arepreferably formed in the ridges of adjacent ribs 16.

An annulus 34 is formed by the continuous upper portion of the skirt 15between the lower surface 18 of the crown and the cuts 26, 27 and 28 toenable the closure 10 to be strong structurally even though there arecuts such as indicated at 26, 27 and 28 in the flange 15.

Localized weakened zones 35, 36 and 37 constituting lines of fold areformed in the top portion 14 as by score lines. However, the weakenedzones can be formed by interrupted cuts (not shown), if desired, or bycreasing or otherwise conditioning the metal to flex along those lines.The weakened zones 34, 35 and 36 extend along geometric chords in thecircular top portion 14. At the juncture of the chords 35 and 37 acommon weakened zone portion 38 in the form of a score line extends tothe center of the bight 29 of the cut 26. Score lines 39 and 40 areidentical to the score line 38. The common weakened zone portions orscore lines 38, 39 and 40 are shown to extend radially in developedview, FIG. 4. The weakened zones or score lines 35, 36 and 37 form agenerally equilateral triangle. The weakened zone 35 and the cuts 26 and27 are considered to form a sector S; the weakened zone 36 and the cuts27 and 28 are considered to form a sector S; and the weakened zone 37and the cuts 28 and 26 are considered to form a sector S".

If four equally spaced tabs were provided in the flange 15 and if fourweakened zones would extend along chords of the circular top portion 14so as to connect adjacent tabs, the weakened zones would form .a square.

T 0 remove the closure 10 from the container 11, a2y two of the tabs26', 27 and 28' .can be pulled to thus rupture .the continuous edge 20at ,two places. Each pair of adjacent cuts 26 and 27, and 27 and 28, and28 and 26 are spaced sufficiently around the flange 15 to enable any oneof the sectors S, S and S to be bent about the weakened zones 35, 36 and37, respectively. Application of a lifting force to the edge of thesector S for example, will rupture the common weakened zone portions 38and 39 and permit the sector S to be bent about the weakened zone out ofembrace with the bead 13, thus enabling the closure 10 to be completelymanually removed. The disposition of the weakened zones 35, 36 and 37along chords enables any of the sectors S, S and S" to be easily swungout of embrace with. the bead 13, assuming the corresponding pair oftabs has been pulled to rupture the continuous edge 20.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown a closure generallyindicated at having a crown or top portion 46 and an annular flange 47extending downwardly from the top portion 46 and being in embrace withthe bead 13 of the neck of the container 11. The flange 47 has spacedribs 51 identical with the ribs 16 and an inverted generally U-shapedcut 52 arranged in the flange 47, similar to the cut 26 shown in theembodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5. The cut 52 forms a generally upwardlyextending tab 52. The cut 52 has a bight 53 joining a short leg 54 and along leg 55 terminating in close proximity to the continuous free edge56 of the skirt of the cap. A localized weakened zone or score line 57in the flange 47 extending from the bottom of the short leg 54 for asubstantial distance, preferably of the order of 180 degrees around theskirt 47. The score line is of a depth approximately half of thethickness of the metal of the skirt, and it is located immediately abovenibs (23 of FIG. 3) on the skirt that engage under the bead 13 of thebottle. The legs 54 and 55 of the cut 52 are preferably formed in twoadjacent n'bs. Indentations or valleys 59 are defined by adjacent ribs51.

When the tab 52' has been pulled to sever the bridge 58, it is thenpossible to peel the lower part of the skirt of the cap from the rest ofthe cap by pulling on the tab in a manner such as to tear the skirtalong the score line 57. During this peeling action the nibs 23 in theportion of the skirt that is being peeled away are successively broughtout of engagement with the bead 13 of the bottle. When the peelingaction has been carried on to the full extent of the length of the scoreline 57, the remaining portion of the skirt, wherein the nibs are stillin engagement with the underside of the head 13, is of an arcuate extentnot exceeding 180 degrees, and it is therefore now possible to removethe cap from the bottle by sliding it off of the top of the bottle as bya continuation of the pull on the part of the skirt that has been pulledaway from the bottle. The cap is thus removed from the bottle as asingle unit and as a result of a single continuous operation by theperson opening the bottle.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 8 and 9, there is shown a closure generallyindicated at 65 having a crown or top portion 66 and an annular skirt orflange 67 extending downwardly from the top portion 66 and being inembrace with the bead 13 on a neck 12 of a container 70. The skirt 67has spaced ribs 71 and an inverted generally U-shaped cut 72 arranged inthe skirt 67, identical respectively to the ribs 16 and the cut 26 shownin the embodiment of FIGS. 1 through 5. The cut 72 forms a generallyupwardly extending tab 72'. The cut 72 has a bight 73 joining a shortleg 74 and a long leg 75 terminating relatively close to a continuousfree edge 76. A localized weakened zone 77 in the flange 67 is shown tobe a score line extending from the short leg 74 along the skirt 67 onone side of the closure 65 for a relatively short arcuate distance andupwardly along the line 77' across the upper portion of the skirt 67 andacross the top portion 66 and may, optionally, also extend downwardlypart way along the skirt 67 at the other side of the closure 65.

A localized weakened zone 78 in the form of a score line, extendsupwardly in the flange 67 at one side of the closure 65, and parallelsthe score line 77 across the top portion 66, and may, optionally, extenddownwardly part way along the flange 67 at the other side of the closure65.

In order to remove the closure 65, the tab 72' is pulled to rupture thecontinuous edge 76 and the tab is further pulled to rupture the skirt 67and the top portion along the weakened zones 77 and 78. The weakenedzones 77 and 78 divide the closure into sectors 8,, and S so as topermit removal of the closure 65 from the container when these sectorsare spread apart.

The cap of FIGS. 8 and 9 is removed from the bottle by an initial actionwhich is the same as the removal of the cap of FIGS. 6 and 7. When thebottom of the skirt of the cap of FIGS. 8 and 9 has been peeledcircumferentially a short distance, a further pull on the peeled portionof the skirt causes the line of tear to follow the scores lines 77-78across the crown of the cap. It is then possible to swing or bend oneportion of the cap, in this instance the portion S away from the bottle.During that swinging action, that portion hinges at the skirt along aline of hinge extending heightwise of the skirt from the portion 76thereof to the place where the score lines 77 -78 terminate. The swungaway portion includes 180 degrees (or slightly more or slightly less) ofthe skirt. The remaining portion of the skirt may then be removed bypushing the cap radially of the bottle to bring the nibs 23 thereof outof engagement with the bottle bead 13.

While FIG. 9 shows the arcuate portion which is between the tear 72 andthe score lines 77-78 as extending across approximately 35 degrees, thisarcuate decrease may be made larger or smaller, if desired. If it ismade smaller, it is apparent that the score lines 77'-78 will approachthe center of the cap. This may be objectionable in some instances. Thescore lines 77-78 may, if desired, extend arcu-ately across the crown ofthe cap, which overcomes this objection. This is illustrated in FIG. 10which uses, generally, the same reference characters with a subscript afor the same parts. The closure 65a corresponds to the closure 65 ofFIGS. 8 and 9, this closure having a crown portion 66a and an annularskirt 67a and a U-shaped cut 72a, all identical with the correspondingstructure of FIG. 9. In this case an arcuate score line 80 thatcorresponds to the arcuate score line 77 of FIG. 9, is of acomparatively short arcuate length, that score line continuing on adiagonal 81 to the crown of the cap and then continuing on an arcuatescore line 82 that follows along the periphery of the crown or may evenbe at the uppermost portion of the skirt of the cap, to a point 83 whereit may tenninate or may optionally continue downwardly along the skirtas indicated at 84. If the score line 80 is of very small or zero extent(omitted entirely), the diagonal score line extends from the line 82 tothe bottom of the adjacent shorter end of the line of cut 72a thatdefines the pull tab 72'. When a bottle capped by this cap is beingopened, the circumferential pull on the tab 58a causes the skirt 67a topeel by tearing first along the score portion 80, then along the scoreportion 81, then along the score portion 82 to 84. This produces twosectors S and S',,. While all or the bulk of the area of the crown ofthe cap is included in the sector S' only approximately half, or lessthan half, of the skirt portion is included with that sector, and it isthus possible to remove the cap from the bottle in a very simple manner.When the pull, above described, has resulted in tearing of the cap alongthe score line to the end thereof, a further or continued pull resultsin pulling of the remaining part of the cap off of the bottle. The capis thus removed as one piece by one continuous pull,

FIG. 11 shows a fragmentary portion of the tab of FIGS. 7 or 9 or 10,but illustrating a modified tab construction. Here a tab 90, whichcorresponds to the tab 52' of FIG. 6 or 72' of FIG. 8 or (or even thetab 26 of FIG. 1) differs from these tabs in that on one side of thetab, which is the side that corresponds to the longer line of cut, thetab has a short side wing 91. This facilitates pulling of the tab insuch a way as to exert more force thereon along the longer edge, whichcorresponds to the edges 55 or 75 of FIGS. 6 and 8, than along theshorter edge, that corresponds to the edges 54 or 74 of FIGS. 6 and 8.This facilitates tearing of the bridge 58 (or the bridge 58 of FIG. 8).

The closures of each of the embodiments herein shown are preferably madeof metal, tinplate, or aluminum, and are in general, of the constructionshown and described in my patent application, Serial No. 345,019. Thedifferences between the caps herein shown and the caps of my abovereferred to application, or the application of Frank W. Considine,Serial No. 328,869, now bandoned, which is assigned to the assignee ofthe present application, lies essentially in the construction andarrangement of the score lines herein shown, and the locations or shapesof the pull tabs. All other parts of the cap may be of constructionsdescribed in the two above applications, the disclosure andillustrations of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Only the center lines of the skirt ribs in the developed views of FIGS.4, 7, 9 and 10 have been drawn, for the sake of clarity.

It may be seen from FIGURES 4 and 5 that the cap above described hastwenty one ribs 16 and that there are six ribs in each of the sectors S,S and S" when the three tabs are removed. It is within the presentinvention to eliminate one of the tabs 26', 27 or 28. Assume that thetab 28' is omitted (omitting also the score lines 36 and 37). When thesector S is flexed upwardly, as previously explained, the cap can beremoved from the bottle, but wtih greater difliculty. This diflicultycan be substantially reduced by making the remaining tabs 26- 27' eachof double the circumferential width illustrated but still spaced apart adistance of six ribs. This change will leave the sector S exactly as itis so that upon removal of the tabs 26-27' the sector S can be removedexactly as before. The skirt now extends around the neck of the bottleto the extent of eleven ribs 16 out of an initial twenty one ribs orslightly more than 180. The cap with its skirt thus severed can readilybe pushed off of the bottle either by sliding the cap across the upperend 12' of the bottle or by forcing the cap upwardly, as by an upwardpull on the upwardly bent sector S.

In each of the embodiments above described, the weakened zones are scorelines extending to a depth of about half the thickness of the metal ofthe cap and are formed on the outer surface of the cap. They may,instead, be formed on the inner surface of the cap, in the samepositions as herein illustrated, in which event the score lines would beillustrated in the various figures by dotted lines. This does not changethe described mode of operation of the caps. It leaves the exposed crownportions of the cap free of score lines which might be objection-ableinsofar as concerns design lithography or printed matter placed or to beplaced on the crown. Likewise, the score lines on the inner surface ofthe skirt, instead of on the outer surface, can not possibly interferewith the capping operation.

In compliance with the requirements of the patent statutes, I haveherein shown and described preferred embodiments of the invention. Itis, however, to be understood that the invention is not limited to theprecise construction herein, shown, the same being merely illustrativeof the principles of the invention. What is considered new and sought tobe secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A closure comprising: a generally circular top portion, an annularflange extending generally downwardly from said top portion and having acontinuous free edge, at least two cuts in said flange, each of saidcuts being continuous to form a tab, each tab terminating at one endbelow the lower surface of said top portion and at its opposite endshort of said edge, means defining a weakened line of flexing extendinggenerally along a chord of said top portion between adjacent tabs andterminating at its opposite ends substantially in the region of junctureof said top and flange, and means defining imperforate weakening linesextending from each of the ends of the line of flexing and downwardlyalong the flange to the tabs and forming angles with said line offlexing, the tabs being operable to rupture the parts of the flangeextending therefrom to said edge so that subsequent application of forceto said edge between the ruptured parts of the flange and in a directiontoward said top portion will fracture said weakening lines andfacilitate bending a sector of the cap relative to the remainder of thecap about said line of flexing.

2. A closure, comprising: a generally circular top portion, an annularflange extending generally downwardly from said top portion and having acontinuous free edge, said flange being adapted to embrace a head on theneck of a container, three equally spaced inverted generally U-shapedcuts in said flange terminating short of said edge, each of said cutsdefining a tab that terminates short of said top portion, means forminglines of flexing defining an equilateral triangle lying on said topportion, the corners of the triangle being, respectively, opposite thecenters of said cuts, and weakened zones extending from each corner ofthe triangle to the adjacent cut.

3. A closure, comprising: a body having a top portion, an annular flangeextending generally downwardly from said top portion and having acontinuous edge, said flange being adapted to embrace a head on the neckof a container, an inverted generally U-shaped cut in said flange havinga short leg and a long leg, with said long leg terminating relativelyclose to said edge, said cut forming a generally upwardly extending tab,and means for enabling said closure to be removed from the bead whensaid tab has been pulled to rupture the flange between the end of thelong leg and said edge, said means including a portion of said flangebounded in part by a weakened zone formed in said flange and extendingcircumferentially thereof from said short leg of said U-shaped cut.

4. A closure, comprising: a top portion, an annular flange extendinggenerally downwardly from said top portion and having a continuous freeedge, said flange having a multiplicity of generally downwardlyextending ribs and an indentation between each pair of adjacent ribs,said indentations being adapted to fit at least partly under a head onthe neck of a container, a cut extending through at least one rib ofsaid flange, said cut extending from below the lower surface of said topportion and terminating short of said edge, said cut forming a generallyupwardly extending tab, a continuous upper portion of said flangeextending from the lower surface of said top portion to said out formingan annulus, and a localized weakened zone in said flange above said ribsand said indentations extending for a substantial circumferentialdistance around said flange from said cut so that the closure isentirely removable from the head when said tab has been pulled torupture said flange between the tab and said free edge and to rupturesaid flange along said weakened zone.

5. A crown cap comprising: a crown portion, an annular skirt extendinggenerally downwardly from said crown portion and having a continuousfree edge, said skirt being adapted to embrace a bead on the neck of acontainer, a cut extending through said skirt and terminating short ofsaid edge and forming a generally upwardly extending tab, and an arcuatelocalized weakened zone in the skirt extending from aid tab partlyaround said skirt.

6. A crown cap comp-rising: a crown portion, an annular skirt extendinggenerally downwardly from said crown portion and having a continuousfree edge, said skirt being adapted to embrace a bead on the neck of acontainer, a cut extending through said skirt and terminating short ofsaid edge and forming a generally upwardly extending tab, an arcuatelocalized weakened zone extending from said tab partly around said skirtand across said crown portion, and an additional zone of weaknessextending across the crown adjacent to the part of the first mentionedzone of weakness that extends across the crown portion and cooperatingtherewith for tearing the cap from the container neck.

7. A crown cap comprising: a crown portion, an annular skirt extendinggenerally downwardly from said crown and having a continuous free edge,said skirt being adapted to embrace a bead on the neck of a container, acut extending through said skirt and terminating short of said edge andforming a generally upwardly extending tab, and an arcuate localizedweakened zone extending from said tab partly around said skirt andarcuately along the perimeter of the crown portion.

8. A crown cap comprising a body having a crown and a peripheral skirtsurrounding and projecting away from the crown and adapted for grippingengagement with a container neck to retain the cap thereon, a tear tabon the body, said tab being defined by a line of cut with and endportion of the line defining a side of-the tab and terminating at apoint spaced from but adjacent to the free end of the skirt andextending from there toward the crown, means for enabling the cap to beremoved from said neck when the tab has been pulled to rupture the partof the skirt between said point and said free, end, said means beingintegral with the tab and including an arcuate strip in the body thatextends from the tab remote from said side and in a directioncircumferentially of the body, said strip being bounded by said free endand an arcuate line of weakness in the body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,605,708 11/1926Clark 215-46 2,069,410 2/1937 Hochstadter 215-46 3,118,556 1/1964 Amatoet al. 21546 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

GEORGE O. RALSTON, FRANKLIN T. GARRET, Examiners.

J. B. MARBERT, Assistant Examiner.

1. A CLOSURE COMPRISING: A GENERALLY CIRCULAR TOP PORTION, AN ANNULARFLANGE EXTENDING GENERALLY DOWNWARDLY FROM SAID TOP PORTION AND HAVING ACONTINUOUS FREE EDGE, AT LEAST TWO CUTS IN SAID FLANGE, EACH OF SAIDCUTS BEING CONTINUOUS TO FORM A TAB, EACH TAB TERMINATING AT ONE ENDBELOW THE LOWER SURFACE OF SAID TOP PORTION AND AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDSHORT OF SAID EDGE, MEANS DEFINING A WEAKENED LINE OF FLEXING EXTENDINGGENERALLY ALONG A CHORD OF SAID TOP PORTION BETWEEN ADJACENT TABS ANDTERMINATING AT ITS OPPOSITE ENDS SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE REGION OF JUNCTUREOF SAID TOP AND FLANGE, AND MEANS DEFINING IMPERFORATE WEAKENING LINESEXTENDING FROM EACH OF THE ENDS OF THE LINE OF FLEXING AND DOWNWARDLYALONG THE FLANGE TO THE TABS AND FORMING ANGLES WITH SAID LINE OFFLEXING, THE TABS BEING OPERABLE TO RUPTURE THE PARTS OF THE FLANGEEXTENDING THEREFROM TO SAID EDGE SO THAT SUBSEQUENT APPLICATION OF FORCETO SAID EDGE BETWEEN THE RUPTURED PARTS OF THE FLANGE AND IN A DIRECTIONTOWARD SAID TOP PORTION WILL FRACTURE SAID WEAKENING LINES ANDFACILITATE BENDING A SECTOR OF THE CAP RELATIVE TO THE REMAINDER OF THECAP ABOUT SAID LINE OF FLEXING.